Bookkeeping for Burnaby contractors and trades

In Burnaby the work is tall and it runs for years. We keep each job's draws, holdbacks and labour in order from the first pour to the last fixture, so nothing depends on memory.

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From $225/month

Progress draw 7

Example

Electrical rough-in, tower podium levels

Billed this draw
$124,800.00
Held back, 10%
−$12,480.00
Paid to you
$112,320.00
Holdback waits on the jobPayable 55 days after completion

Amounts before GST.

Towers in the town centres

Burnaby plans its growth around four town centres: Metrotown, its downtown, and Brentwood, Lougheed and Edmonds. That is where its high-rise building is concentrated, and a tower keeps forming, mechanical, electrical, drywall and finishing trades on site for a long time, billing monthly against a schedule of values.

Long jobs change the books. A trade can bill twenty draws on one building, and 10% of each sits as holdback until the holdback period ends. Forming crews finish early and finishing trades finish late; if nobody asks for a certificate of completion when a subcontract is done, its holdback can wait for the whole building.

  • Ask for the certificate

    A contractor or subcontractor can ask the payment certifier for a certificate of completion when its own work is done, and the certifier has 10 days to decide. The 55 days then run from that certificate.

    Source: BC Laws

  • Draws against a schedule of values

    Each draw is matched to the percentage complete it bills, so revenue on a two-year job isn't counted early and the contract still to bill is always in view.

  • Change orders and back-charges

    Approved change orders are added to the job's contract value, and a back-charge is recorded against the draw it reduces, so the job's margin shows both.

The rules on every BC job

The same in Burnaby as anywhere in the province, and kept in your books every month.

  • 10%

    Holdback on every draw

    Whoever pays you on a contract or subcontract keeps back 10% of each payment. We record it as holdback receivable against the job, not as revenue you lost, and you keep 10% from your own subs as holdback payable.

    Source: BC Laws
  • 55 days

    Until a holdback can be paid

    The holdback period ends 55 days after a certificate of completion, or after the head contract is completed. The Construction Prompt Payment Act, not yet in force, will shorten it to 46.

    Source: BC Laws
  • $500

    A T5018 slip per subcontractor

    If construction is more than half your business income, payments to a subcontractor over $500 in the period (before GST) are reported on a T5018, due six months after the calendar or fiscal year you report on.

    Source: CRA
  • PST

    Paid on materials, not charged on install

    Contractors pay PST on materials bought for a job, lump sum or time and materials, and generally don't charge it when those goods become part of the building. That PST is part of the job's cost; only the GST comes back as an input tax credit.

    Source: Province of BC
  • Before and after

    A WorkSafeBC clearance letter for each sub

    If a sub you hired doesn't pay its WorkSafeBC premiums, you can be liable for them. A clearance letter addressed to you, before and after the work, is what protects you.

    Source: WorkSafeBC
  • 1.5×

    Overtime for hourly crews

    Time and a half after 8 hours in a day or 40 in a week, and double time after 12 in a day, unless an averaging agreement applies. Payroll is run from the timesheets.

    Source: Province of BC
  • 5 days

    To issue an ROE after a layoff

    On a weekly, biweekly or semi-monthly payroll, an electronic Record of Employment is due within 5 calendar days after the end of the pay period in which someone's earnings stop.

    Source: Service Canada

Kept by someone from the trade

Liam keeps these books. Before Tallyforth he spent his career in concrete construction as a detailer, surveyor, estimator and quantity takeoff specialist, so a draw schedule, a holdback and a back-charge read to him the way they read to you.

What it costs

Monthly bookkeepingReconciled, closed and reported every month
$225/month
PayrollHourly crews, remittances, T4s and ROEs
$100/month and up
Year-end, corporationsT2 prepared and filed by a licensed CPA
$1,325/year

A contractor with a crew and a holding company

$1,950 to $2,438/month

An example estimate from our pricing page.

Estimates only, confirmed after we review your books. Plans have a 3-month minimum, and prices are before applicable sales taxes.

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Questions from contractors in Burnaby

Our part of a tower is done but the building won't be finished for a year. When can we get our holdback?

Ask the payment certifier, in writing, for a certificate of completion for your subcontract. Under the Builders Lien Act they have 10 days to decide, and the holdback period then ends 55 days after the certificate is issued. Without one, it runs from the completion of the head contract. We keep your holdbacks listed by job, so you know which ones to ask about.

How do you handle change orders and back-charges?

Approved change orders go onto the job's contract value and are recorded with the draw that bills them. A back-charge from the GC is recorded against the job and the draw it reduces. Profit by job then shows the work as it was actually paid for.

More for contractors

Sources